Magnetically communicative card

ABSTRACT

A magnetically communicative card ( 200 ) has a ferrite core ( 302 ) extending substantially the width ( 201 ) of the card body ( 203 ) and has a conductor ( 408 ) wound around the ferrite core for the entire length of the ferrite core. Embedded within the card body is a controller ( 208 ) that controls a varying magnetic field emanating from the conductor to mimic a varying magnetic field produced by a conventional magnetic stripe card. Optionally, the card includes a sensor to sense a signal intercepted by the conductor from a varying magnetic field emanating from another device. The controller reads the sensed signal to receive communication from the other device. A magnetically communicative card ( 400, 500 ) is alternatively flexibly attached and detachably coupled to an electronic wallet ( 402, 502 ) to produce an apparatus ( 405, 501 ). A wireless communication interface ( 523 ) is alternatively carried by the magnetically communicative card and the electronic wallet to provide wireless reconfiguration of the magnetically communicative card remotely.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/657,144, filed Jun. 3,1996 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,756.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to the field of data cards, and moreparticularly, with a data card communicative with both magnetic stripecard readers and with smartcard readers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional prior art magnetic card reader 100, as shown in FIG. 1,typically includes a magnetic reading mechanism 102 that comprises atleast one magnetic reading head 103. The magnetic card reader 100normally includes a slotted portion 104 for inserting a magneticallyreadable card 106. As is well known in the art, the magneticallyreadable card 106 typically includes a magnetic stripe 110 which islocated about an edge of the magnetically readable card 106. Themagnetic stripe 110 includes at least one track 111 where information ismagnetically encoded using an encoding technique that is well known inthe art. As shown in FIG. 1, the magnetic stripe 110 includes threetracks of information. Correspondingly, the magnetic reading mechanism102 includes three magnetic reading heads labeled R1, R2, and R/W3 forreading, respectively, track 1, track 2, and track 3 of the magneticallyreadable card 106. Additionally, the third magnetic reading head labeledR/W3 is a read/write track and comprises, in this example of prior art,a magnetic writing mechanism for writing information to track 3 of themagnetically readable card 106 in a conventional way. As is well known,a user inserts the magnetically readable card, or card, 106 in theslotted portion 104 and slides, in a direction indicated by arrow 108,the card 106 through the slotted portion 104. This swiping mechanismmoves the magnetic stripe 110 of the card 106 across the magneticreading head 103 such that the at least one track 111 of informationencoded in the magnetic stripe 110 can be detected by the magneticreading head 103 and read by the magnetic card reader 100.

The magnetic card reader 100, after reading the encoded information fromthe magnetic stripe 110, then typically forwards the information toanother device. In the prior art example shown in FIG. 1, the magneticcard reader 100 is coupled to a central system 112, such as via a dialup telephone line 114, a dedicated line, or a computer network. In thisexample, the magnetic card reader 100 communicates with the centralsystem 112 over the dial up telephone line 114, e.g., using the publicswitch telephone network (PSTN) by way of modem communication. Theinformation read from the magnetic stripe 110 is then forwarded from themagnetic card reader 100 to the central system 112. The central system112 typically comprises at least one database of information to analyzethe received information from the magnetic card reader 100. The centralsystem 112 then communicates a conclusion to the magnetic card reader100 which, in this example, can alert the user whether the transactionwith the holder of the card 106 is authorized by the central system 112.

The construction of the card 106 and of the conventional magnetic cardreader 100, the techniques for magnetic encoding of information, and theformat of information content for the card 106 are well known and arespecified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), such asin ANSI standard X4.16-1983, and the more recent international standardfor identification cards provided in ANSI/ISO/IEC-7811 Parts 1-5.

Although magnetically readable cards 106, i.e., magnetic stripe cards,are well accepted by users, and magnetic card readers 100 are part of alarge infrastructure that is a mature and stable technology, there are anumber of problems with the current use of magnetically readable cards106 and conventional magnetic card readers 100.

First, cards 106 tend to wear out and become unreliable after repeateduse. For example, the magnetic material of the magnetic stripe 110 issubject to physical damage from external hazards, degradation of itsmagnetic qualities over time, and it can be affected by externalmagnetic fields. Second, cards 106 can be easily duplicated whichfacilitates fraudulent use. For example, an unauthorized user can easilyduplicate the information stored on the magnetic stripe 110 from a firstcard 106 that may have been obtained from a legal authorized user, andcopy the information to a second blank card 106. The unauthorized usercould then utilize the second duplicate card to engage in fraudulenttransactions. Third, the card 106 typically contains a fixed amount ofprerecorded magnetic information on the magnetic stripe 110. This fixedinformation normally corresponds to a single issuer of a card 106. Inthis way, users tend to carry many different cards 106 to be able toengage in transactions with different issuers of the cards 106. Thistends to be cumbersome and inconvenient for a user to have to carry manydifferent cards on their person. Fourth, the magnetic stripe 110 is of afixed predetermined length and can store only a maximum number of bitsof information, such as is specified by the ANSI standards. The amountof information that can be stored in the magnetic stripe 110, therefore,is constrained by the physical dimension of the magnetic stripe 110 andthe conventional magnetic recording technique used to store themagnetically encoded information on the magnetic stripe 110. Fifth, dueto the aforementioned problems with magnetic stripe card technology,there is a trend to migrate to smartcard technology. Smartcardtechnology typically utilizes a card with a built in controller and agroup of electronic contacts arranged in a predetermined pattern on thesurface of the smartcard to enable an external device, i.e., a smartcardreader, to communicate with the controller contained on the smartcard.This smartcard technology is different from the magnetic stripe cardtechnology such that a conventional magnetic stripe card is normally notsupported by a smartcard reader and a smartcard is, likewise, notsupported by the vast existing stable infrastructure of the magneticstripe card readers, i.e., conventional magnetic card readers 100.Therefore, in migrating to the more recent smartcard technology, thevast and stable magnetic stripe card reader infrastructure will becomeobsolete and will have to be replaced by the more recent smartcardreader and associated infrastructure. This change in card reader andinfrastructure technology will be very costly to implement and probablynot available at all locations right away. Therefore, those individualscarrying smartcards for some time would not have commonly availableestablishments with smartcard readers, thereby inconveniencing smartcardusers during this transition in technology.

Thus, what is needed is a magnetically communicative card that overcomesthe problems of known magnetically readable cards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a representation of a prior art magnetic stripe card readerand a prior art magnetic stripe card.

FIG. 2 is a simplified diagrammatic representation of a conventionalmagnetic stripe card reader and an electrical block diagram of amagnetically communicative card having three conductors in accordancewith the invention.

FIG. 3 is a simplified diagrammatic representation of a magnetic readinghead in proximity to a magnetically communicative card having oneconductor in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective diagrammatic representation of the magneticallycommunicative card flexibly attached to an electronic wallet.

FIG. 5 is a simplified diagrammatic representation of an electronicwallet, of a magnetically communicative card removably connected to theelectronic wallet in accordance with the invention, and of aconventional magnetic stripe card reader.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the magnetically communicative cardshown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the magnetically communicative card showingsmartcard technology within the magnetically communicative card inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary operational sequence of an electronic wallet andof the magnetically communicative card in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 9 is another exemplary operational sequence of an electronic walletand of the magnetically communicative card in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 10 is a graph of an exemplary data stream between a magnetic cardreader and the magnetically communicative card in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the magnetically communicative card anda read head of the conventional magnetic stripe card reader showingmagnetic flux lines emanating from a ferrite core carried by themagnetically communicative card.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of themagnetically communicative card and a read head of the conventionalmagnetic stripe card reader showing magnetic flux lines emanating from aconductor carried by the magnetically communicative card.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 2, a user inserts, in a direction indicated by arrow202, a magnetically communicative card, or card, 200 in the slottedportion 104 of the magnetic card reader 100. The card 200, whichincludes a card body 203 having a width 201 and a length 209, comprisesat least one conductor 204 located about an edge 205 of the card 200such that when the card 200 is inserted into the slotted portion 104 ofthe magnetic card reader 100, the conductor 204 corresponds to themagnetic reading head 103 of the magnetic reading mechanism 102 of themagnetic card reader 100. The conductor 204, having a length 207 that issubstantially the width 201 of the card body, is electrically coupled toat least one driver circuit 206 for driving electrical signals throughthe conductor 204. A controller 208 is coupled to the driver circuit 206for controlling the operation of the driver circuit 206. The controller208, for example, can couple a data signal to the driver circuit 206.The controller 208, when coupling the data signal to the driver circuit206, causes the driver circuit 206 to electrically drive the conductor204 in accordance with the data signal. The electrically drivenconductor 204 emits an alternating polarity magnetic field about theconductor 204 in accordance with the data signal. The alternatingpolarity of the magnetic field about the conductor 204 comprisesmagnetic flux transitions. These magnetic flux transitions can be pickedup by the magnetic reading head 103 and detected by the magnetic cardreader 100 to indicate bits of information corresponding to the datasignal provided by the controller 208.

In accordance with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI),standard X4.16-1983, and international standard ISO/IEC 7811 Part 2, aself-clocking data signal encoding technique known as two frequencyencoding is utilized in the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention to communicate information between the card 200 and themagnetic card reader 100. This data encoding technique comprises dataand clocking flux transitions in the same signal. A magnetic fluxtransition occurring between clocks, signifies that the bit is a “1”.The absence of a flux transition between clock transitions signifiesthat the bit is a “0”. Magnetic flux transitions occur at the locationsof the maxima of the magnitude of the magnetic flux density componentnormal to the surface of the card 200.

In a preferred embodiment, the controller 208 provides the data signalto operate the driver circuit 206 to selectively drive each of the atleast one conductor 204 in any one of three states. First, the drivercircuit 206 can forward drive a current through the conductor 204 toemit a magnetic field with a first polarity. Second, the driver circuit206 can drive the conductor 204 with a reverse current to emit amagnetic field of a second polarity. Third, the driver circuit 206 canremain in an idle state, neither forward driving nor reverse driving theconductor 204. In this way, the controller 208 can couple a data signalto the driver circuit 206 to cause the conductor 204 to emit thealternating polarity magnetic field for providing the magnetic fluxtransitions to the magnetic reading head 103 of the magnetic card reader100.

A power source 210 in the card 200 is coupled to the driver circuit 206to provide the electrical power to electrically drive the conductor 204.Preferably, the power source 210 comprises a thin battery optionallycombined with a thin super capacitor. For example, a thin solid statelithium ion battery combined with a thin super capacitor as a powersource 210 provides both a long term energy storage and a high currentpulse capability when necessary to drive the conductor 204 to emit thealternating polarity magnetic field.

The controller 208 is coupled to a sensor 214 for determining when thecard 200 has been inserted 202 into the slotted portion 104 of themagnetic card reader 100; alternatively, the sensor is omitted. Thesensor 214 comprises a contact switch located on the surface of the card200 about an edge of the card 200 to detect when the card 200 is makingcontact with a surface in the slotted portion 104 of the magnetic cardreader 100; alternatively, the sensor 214 comprises an optical sensor todetect a low light condition when the card 200 is inserted into theslotted portion 104. As another alternative, the sensor 214 comprises aproximity sensor to detect when the card 200 inserted 202 into theslotted portion 104 of the magnetic card reader 100 is in proximity to asurface of the slotted portion 104. Therefore, the sensor 214 can beutilized by the controller 208 to determine when the card 200 has beeninserted 202 into the slotted portion 104 of the magnetic card reader100 such that the conductor 204 is in a proximate location to themagnetic reading head 103 to communicate therebetween utilizing, in oneembodiment, the alternating polarity magnetic field.

A user interface 212 such as a button, switch, or other contact sensor,is coupled to the controller to accept input from a user of the card200. The user interface includes a user input and a user output. Forexample, when the user inserts the card 200 into the slotted portion 104from the magnetic card reader 100, the user can activate a button at theuser interface 212 to send a command signal to the controller 208. Thecommand signal both informs the controller 208 that the card 200 isinserted in the slotted portion 104 and instructs the controller 208 tobegin providing the data signal to the driver circuit 206 toelectrically drive the conductor 204 to effect communication with themagnetic card reader 100 via the magnetic reading head 103. In the eventthat the card 200 comprises the sensor 214, the controller 208 canutilize a signal from the sensor 214 to affirmatively determine that thecard 200 is inserted into the slotted portion 104 of the magnetic cardreader 100 before electrically driving the conductor 204 in accordancewith the data signal.

Additionally, the operation of a card 200 can be made secure byrequiring a user to enter a predetermined combination of inputs or apassword via the user interface 212 before the controller 208 canprovide the data signal to operate the driver circuit 206 to effectcommunication with the magnetic card reader 100. For example, utilizinga single button at the user interface 212, a user is able to enter aseries of dots and dashes similar to a Morse code, to unlock acombination that would then permit the card 200 to begin communicatingwith the magnetic card reader 100. In an alternative example, the userinterface 212 comprises a set of keys (not shown) representing a keypador keyboard, and a liquid crystal display (LCD) (not shown), that allowa user of the card 200, in response to being prompted by a messagedisplayed on the LCD, to enter a security code or password byselectively pressing the keys. After the user enters a predeterminedsecurity code or password via the user interface 212, a magneticcommunication operation of the card 200 unlocks and becomes operative,and then the user can insert the card 200 in the slotted portion 104 ofthe magnetic card reader 100 to begin communication. When the card 200is inserted into the slotted portion 104, in this example, the sensor214 provides a sensing signal to the controller 208 that then beginscommunication between the card 200 and the magnetic card reader 100.

Referring to FIG. 3, the card 200 is shown in close proximity to amagnetic reading head 308 according to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. The controller 208 is coupled to a switch circuit 316for selectively coupling the conductor 204 to either a driver circuit304 or a detector circuit 318. The driver circuit 304 causes a currentin the conductor 204, with changes in such current producing a magneticfield in the vicinity of the conductor. The detector circuit 318responds to current in the conductor 204, the current changing as aresult of the conductor intercepting a changing magnetic field. Althoughthe preferred embodiment comprises the switch circuit 316 to selectivelycouple the conductor 204 either to the driver circuit 304 or to thedetector circuit 318, an alternative embodiment has a first conductorand a second conductor with the first conductor coupled to the drivercircuit 304 and the second conductor being coupled to the detectorcircuit 318. In this alternative arrangement, the selective switchingbetween the driver circuit 304 and the detector circuit 318 could beimplemented as an operation of the controller 208. In alternativeembodiments, either the driver circuit 304 or the detector circuit 318is omitted from the card 200, and, therefore, switch circuit 316 is notneeded. For example, in a second alternative embodiment, the card 200could include only the driver circuit 304 coupled to the conductor 204for writing information from the card 200 to the magnetic card reader100. In a third alternative embodiment, the card 200 includes only thedetector circuit 318 coupled to the conductor 204 for readinginformation from the magnetic card reader 100 into the card 200.

The controller 208, in a write mode operation, activates switch circuit316 to selectively couple the driver circuit 304 to the conductor 204.The controller 208 then couples a data signal to the driver circuit 304to electrically drive the conductor 204 in accordance with the datasignal. The driven conductor 204 emits, for example, an alternatingpolarity magnetic field (see FIGS. 11 and 12) to write information,preferably encoded in magnetic flux transitions, that can be detected bythe magnetic card reader 100.

Alternatively, in a read mode operation, such as when a magnetic cardreader 100 writes information to the card 200, the controller 208activates the switch circuit 316 to selectively couple the detectorcircuit 318 to the conductor 204. The detector circuit 318 incombination with the conductor 204 can detect a changing magnetic field,such as an alternating polarity magnetic field. The detector circuit 318couples to the controller 208 a detection data signal representing, forexample, a detected alternating polarity magnetic field preferablydetected as a series of magnetic flux transitions, to read informationemitted by a magnetic card reader, such as by a read/write head of themagnetic card reader 100 that is typically utilized for communicatinginformation with a third track of a conventional magnetically readablecard. This read mode operation, in one embodiment, would be an analogousoperation to a magnetic card reader 100 writing information to a thirdtrack of a magnetic stripe 110 of a card 106 (see FIG. 1).

The card 200 as shown in FIG. 3, optionally includes the switch circuit316 and a detector circuit 318 to allow the controller 208 toadditionally detect a changing magnetic field, such as represented bymagnetic flux transitions in an alternating polarity magnetic field,being picked up by the conductor 204 when the controller 208 is in aread mode. The controller 208, in this optional embodiment, iselectrically coupled to the switch circuit 316 to selectively coupleeither the driver circuit 304 or the detector circuit 318 through theconductor 204 via the switch circuit 316. In a first mode, thecontroller 208, as discussed before, provides a data signal to thedriver circuit 304 to electrically drive the conductor 204 to emit theexemplary alternating polarity magnetic field therefrom. In a secondmode, the controller 208 is coupled to the detector circuit 318 todetect the magnetic flux transitions and thereby read a data signal froman exemplary alternating polarity magnetic field being picked up by theconductor 204. This second mode is useful to receive information fromthe magnetic card reader 100 in certain circumstances. For example, aconventional magnetic card reader 100 can read data and can reprogramdata in track three of a conventional magnetic stripe card. Thisread-write process for a conventional card reader 100 is well known inthe art. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present invention, theconductor 204 alternates between emitting a data signal represented asan alternating polarity magnetic field and detecting a data signalrepresented by an alternating polarity magnetic field that was emittedfrom another device, such as by the magnetic card reader 100.

Alternatively, the conductor 204 of the present invention is driven by acurrent that alternates by utilizing a switching means similar to thatshown in figure thirteen of the Burkhardt patent, U.S. Pat. No.4,791,283 entitled Transaction Card Magnetic Stripe Emulator issued,Dec. 13, 1988, and which is hereby fully incorporated by referenceherein. The switching means provides drive and return paths thatalternately couples the driver and return paths (corresponding to thedriver circuit 206 of the other embodiment of the present invention) toalternate opposite ends of the conductor 204 to cause alternating drivecurrent pulses through the conductor to emit an alternating magneticfield from the conductor. The switching means is coupled to, andcontrolled by, the controller. This alternating magnetic fieldcorresponds to the data signal being provided by the controller to theswitching means (and to the driving means) in accordance with theinternational standard ISO/IEC 7811 Part 2 for providing a magneticallyreadable stripe card that is magnetically readable by a conventionalmagnetic card reader.

In the preferred embodiment, the conductor 204 is wound about a ferritecore 302 in the approximate shape of a coil. The conductor 204 isphysically wound about the ferrite core 302. Alternatively, a printedcircuit or similar technique, is used to add the conductor 204 withwindings about the ferrite core 302 to the card 200.

The conductor 204 is located in the card 200 to correspond to thelocation of the magnetic reading head 308 when the card 200 has beeninserted into the slotted portion 104 of the magnetic card reader 100(see FIG. 2).

The magnetic reading head 308 of a magnetic card reader 100 typicallycomprises a pickup coil 310 wound about a ferrite core 312. The pickupcoil 310 is electrically coupled to a detector circuit 314 in themagnetic card reader 100 to detect, for example, the magnetic fluxtransitions of the changing magnetic field emitted by the conductor 204when driven in accordance with the data signal. The magnetic fluxtransitions of the changing magnetic field emitted by the conductor 204when driven in accordance with the data signal mimic the changingmagnetic field emitted by a conventional prior art magnetic stripeencoded with data corresponding to the data signal. The magnetic cardreader 100 thereby reads a representation of the data signal from thecard 200 as if the data signal originated from a conventional prior artmagnetic stripe card.

In an alternative embodiment, the conductor 204 is a straight conductorwithout the windings about the ferrite core 302. The alternatingpolarity magnetic field emitted from the conductor 204 is picked up bythe pickup coil 310 such that in the preferred embodiment the magneticflux transitions are detected by the detector circuit 314 of themagnetic card reader 100.

Referring to FIG. 4, a magnetically communicative card, or card, 400 isflexibly coupled about an edge 401 thereof with an edge 403 of anelectronic wallet 402, thereby forming an apparatus 405, in accordancewith a first alternative embodiment of the present invention. Theelectronic wallet 402 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,838 entitledElectronic Wallet, issued, Jun. 22, 1993, to Gutman, et al., which ishereby fully incorporated herein by reference. A flexible coupling means404 about the edge of the card 400 preferably comprises a flexiblematerial and a flex circuit to allow the card 400 to be rotated orgenerally moved about the edge of the electronic wallet 402 whileremaining coupled, as shown in FIG. 4, to the electronic wallet 402,such as in a hinge-like fashion. In this embodiment, the card 400comprises at least one conductor 408, and the sensor 214 that operatesas has been discussed with respect to FIG. 2. The conductor 408 iselectronically coupled to at least one driver circuit 409 located in theelectronic wallet 402. In one embodiment, for example, a first drivercircuit 410 is electrically coupled to a first of the at least oneconductor 408, a second driver circuit 412 is electrically coupled to asecond of the at least one conductor 408, and a third driver circuit 414is electrically coupled to a third of the at least one conductor 408. Inthis exemplary embodiment, the first conductor, the second conductor,and the third conductor, of the at least one conductor 408, correspondsto a first reading head, a second reading head, and a thirdreading/writing head of a magnetic card reader 100. The first conductor,the second conductor, and the third conductor, can be operated by thecard 400 to communicate information bi-directionally with the magneticcard reader 100. This bi-directional communication is in a manneranalogous to the swiping action of a conventional magnetic stripe cardacross the first reading head, the second reading head, and the thirdreading/writing head of the magnetic card reader 100, where the magneticstripe comprises a first track, a second track, and a third track ofinformation for communication with the magnetic card reader 100.

A controller 416 in the electronic wallet 402 is electronically coupledto the at least one driver circuit 409 for controlling the operation ofthe driver circuit 409. For example, the controller 416 can provide adata signal to the driver circuit 409, and, in response to receiving thedata signal, the driver circuit 409 electrically drives the conductor408 in accordance with the data signal. In response to beingelectronically driven, the conductor 408 preferably emits an alternatingpolarity magnetic field. When the card 400 has been inserted, in adirection indicated by arrow 406, into the slotted portion 104 of themagnetic card reader 100, the alternating polarity magnetic field can bedetected by the magnetic reading head 103 of the magnetic card reader100. The bidirectional communication process of the card 400 and themagnetic card reader 100 has been discussed with respect to FIG. 3 suchas by detecting magnetic flux transitions to indicate bits ofinformation that represent a “1” or a “0” value. Also, as has beendiscussed hereinabove with respect to the sensor 214, the card 400 thatoptionally includes the sensor 214 can detect when the card 400 has beeninserted 406 into the slotted portion 104 of the magnetic card reader toaffirmatively determine when communication between the card 400 and themagnetic reading head 103 can take place.

It should be understood that the flex circuit, preferably constituting ahinge-like flexible coupling means 404 between the card 400 and theelectronic wallet 402, provides an electrical coupling means forelectrically coupling the conductor 408 with the driver circuit 409 andfor electrically coupling the sensor 214 with the controller 416.Alternatively, the flex circuit comprises other components in additionto the hinge. The power source 418 residing in the electronic wallet 402comprises similar elements to those already discussed for power source210 in FIG. 2. A larger battery optionally combined with a capacitor areincorporated into the electronic wallet 402 to help power both thefunctions of the electronic wallet 402 and the operation of the card400.

The controller 416 is electrically coupled to a user interface 428 forcommunicating with the user of the electronic wallet 402. The userinterface 428 comprises, in the preferred embodiment, a display (notshown), e.g., a liquid crystal display, for displaying information tothe user. The user interface 428 also includes a user input means (notshown), such as buttons, switches, keys, or other contact input meansfor accepting input from the user. Additionally, the user interface 428preferably comprises a user alerting means (not shown), e.g., an alerttransducer for generating an audible alert, a light emitting diode or alamp for providing visual indication, or a vibrator transducer forproviding a tactile alert to the user, or a combination of theaforementioned output indicators.

In the preferred embodiment, the electronic wallet 402 comprises awireless communication interface 419 capable of communicating messageswith a remotely located communication device. The wireless communicationinterface includes a wireless communication receiver. The operation ofthe wireless communication interface is well known in the art and isdescribed more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,697 entitled AcknowledgeBack Pager, issued, Jun. 23, 1992, to Moore; U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,582entitled Method and Apparatus for Acknowledging and Answering a PagingSignal, issued, Oct. 6, 1992, to Davis; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,038entitled Frequency Division Multiplexed Acknowledge Back Paging System,issued, Oct. 17, 1989, to Siwiak et al., which are assigned to theassignee of the present invention and which are hereby fullyincorporated herein by reference. The invention preferably operates withthe Motorola ReFLEX® two-way wireless paging protocol described indetail in the following U.S. patent applications assigned to theassignee of the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,863 entitledMethod and Apparatus for Identifying a Transmitter in a RadioCommunication System, issued Dec. 12, 1995 to Simpson et al.; U.S. Pat.No. 5,712,624 entitled Method and Apparatus for Optimizing ReceiverSynchronization in a Radio Communication System, issued Jan. 27, 1998 toAyerst et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,926 entitled Method and Apparatus forImproved Message Reception at a Fixed System Receiver, issued May 28,1996 to Ayerst et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,369 entitled Method andApparatus for Inbound Channel Selection in a Communication System,issued Jun. 10, 1997 to Ayerst et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,691entitled A System and Method for Allocating Frequency Channels in aTwo-way Messaging Network, issued Apr. 7, 1998 to Wang et al., which arehereby fully incorporated by reference herein. It should be appreciatedthat other communication protocols are also contemplated, such as theMotorola Flex™ one-way wireless paging protocol described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,168,493 entitled Time Division Multiplex Selective Call Systemissued Dec. 1, 1992 to Nelson et al., assigned to the assignee of thepresent invention, and which is hereby fully incorporated by referenceherein. As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic wallet 402 comprises anantenna 420 electrically coupled to a receiver circuit 422 that iselectrically coupled to a decoder circuit 424 for selectively receivingand decoding messages transmitted by a remote device in a manner wellknown in the art. Typically, the messages comprise address informationand message data. When the address information of a message beingreceived matches a predetermined address information for the electronicwallet 402, the decoder circuit 424 determines that the message isdestined for reception by the electronic wallet 402. Consequently, thedecoder circuit 424 decodes the message being received, including themessage data. The decoder circuit 424 is electrically coupled to thecontroller 416 for providing the received and decoded messages to thecontroller 416. Although a receiver circuit is shown in FIG. 4, atransmitter is alternatively included in order to implement two-waywireless communication.

In first alternative embodiment, the wireless communication interface419 comprises an infrared communication means capable of communicatingwith a remotely located device utilizing infrared communication,preferably utilizing a standard set forth by the Infrared DataAssociation, in a manner well known in the art. In a second alternativeembodiment, the wireless communication interface 419 comprises anultrasound communication means for communicating with a remotely locateddevice utilizing ultrasound communication. In a third alternative, thewireless communication interface 419 comprises a two-way radio frequency(RF) communication means capable of communicating with a remotelylocated device utilizing two-way RF communication. In a fourthalternative, the wireless communication interface 419 comprises asatellite communication means for communicating with a remotely locateddevice utilizing satellite communication. Other alternative wirelesscommunication means can be utilized by the wireless communicationinterface 419 within the spirit of the present invention.

For example, another device can transmit a message to the electronicwallet 402 via a wireless communication media, such via an RFcommunication channel. The antenna 420, in this example, receives atransmitted signal comprising the messages and couples the receivedsignal to the receiver circuit 422. The receiver circuit 422 receivesthe signal and demodulates the data signal from the received RF signal.The decoder circuit 424 then decodes the data signal and extracts amessage from the data signal. The decoder circuit 424 couples themessage to the controller 416. In this way, a remote device can transmitcommands, or data, or both, to the electronic wallet 402 and to the card400.

The controller 416 can be remotely configured by transmitting messagesto the electronic wallet 402. The electronic wallet 402 can beconfigured, for example, to store a data signal in a memory (not shown)to represent a subscription membership to a particular financialservice. This would be analogous to an issuer of a financial cardissuing a new card to the user. However, instead of delivering atangible card to the user to begin a subscription to the service, theservice provider only has to deliver the card information to the user'selectronic wallet 402. The delivery of information to the user ispreferably done by delivering a message to the electronic wallet 402 viathe wireless communication interface 419. As an alternative, theinformation is communicated to the electronic wallet 402 via acommunication between the card 400 and a magnetic card reader 100, suchas when the card 400 has been inserted 406 into the slotted portion 104of the magnetic card reader 100. In a third alternative, the informationis provided to the user, such as via a writing, a display, or otherdelivery means, and then the user can enter the information into theelectronic wallet 402 via the user interface 428.

Although not shown in the drawing, the wireless communication interface419 is alternatively carried by the card 200, rather than by theelectronic wallet, and such card is capable of being reconfiguredover-the-air via the wireless communication interface 419 withoutinvolving use of the electronic wallet 402 during reconfiguation.

After the electronic wallet 402 has been configured as discussed above,in one embodiment, the user can select, via the user interface 428, atransaction using the subscription of a particular financial serviceprovider. Then, the user can insert the card 400 into the slottedportion 104 of the magnetic card reader 100 to initiate a transactionthat uses the particular financial service provider to authorize thetransaction. This would be analogous to the user selecting theparticular financial card from a conventional (i.e., non-electronic)wallet and swiping the card through the slotted portion 104 of themagnetic card reader 100. However, by using the card 400 and electronicwallet 402 arrangement of the present invention, the user hassignificant advantages over the conventional magnetic stripe cardapproach. First, the initiation of the transaction is more securebecause the electronic wallet 402 requires a password to be entered bythe user at the user interface 428 before a transaction could beeffected. On the other hand, a conventional magnetic stripe card couldbe easily duplicated without the user's permission. Second, theelectronic wallet 402 can store many different service provideridentification and subscription information in a memory (not shown),such as in a memory at the controller 416 which can advantageously beconfigured via wireless communication through the use of the wirelesscommunication interface 419. In this way, the user of the electronicwallet 402 can utilize the card 400 to initiate a transaction with aselected one of the many different service providers and subscriptionservices identified in the controller 416. On the other hand, a user ofthe conventional magnetic stripe card typically keeps one magneticstripe card for each service provider in a conventional wallet to becarried on the user's person. This is a bulky and cumbersome burden thatusers have had to tolerate in the past. This is especially burdensome ifa user wants to engage in transactions with many different serviceproviders. Third, the card 400 comprising the conductor 408 is a muchmore durable and reliable medium for initiating transactions with themagnetic card reader 100. With the invention, there are no problems withlosing magnetic quality of the magnetic stripe 110 on a card 106 (seeFIG. 1). The conductor 408 can be embedded deeply into the card 400thereby protecting the conductor 408 from the external elements andphysical damage. On the other hand, the conventional magnetic stripe 110typically resides near the outer surface of the conventional magneticstripe card and can be very susceptible to physical damage or externalhazards.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second alternative embodiment of a magneticallycommunicative card 500 and electronic wallet 502 apparatus 501 is shownaccording to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Themagnetically communicative card, or card, 500 comprises a controller 514electrically coupled to at least one driver circuit 509 that iselectrically coupled to at least one conductor 510. In this secondalternative embodiment, the card 500 mechanically engages with theelectronic wallet 502, but can be separated from the electronic wallet502. For example, the card 500 can reside within a pocket 504 of theelectronic wallet 502. The card 500 can be pulled out, in a directionindicated by arrow 506, from the pocket 504 to initiate a transactionwith another device. The card 500 and the electronic wallet 502 areelectrically coupled via slidable engagement contacts as will be morefully discussed below. While the card 500 and the electronic wallet 502are slidably engaged, a controller/decoder 522 in the electronic wallet502 can communicate via a sliding engagement means 524 with thecontroller 514 in the card 500. Additionally, a power source 418provides power to the circuits on the card 500 through a slidableengagement means 518. In this way, the card 500, when slidably engagedwith the electronic wallet 502, communicates therebetween and, forexample, can be configured by the electronic wallet 502. That is, thecontroller/decoder 522 can communicate a data signal to the controller514 on the card 500 to program a memory (not shown) in the controller514. The controller/decoder 522 on the electronic wallet 502 cancommunicate with a remote device via the wireless communicationinterface 523 to, for example, receive messages. These messages, oncereceived by the controller/decoder 522 includes commands or data, orboth, to instruct the controller/decoder 522 to configure the controller514 in the card 500. In this way, for example, a message transmitted bya remote device can be delivered to the wireless communication interface523 and can reconfigure a card 500 to allow the user to initiatetransactions with a service provider. Therefore, the card 500 isconfigured remotely with the magnetic card reader 100 to initiatetransactions with many different service providers that are identifiedand a subscription identification is stored in a memory in thecontroller 514 in the card 500. The delivery of information to the useris preferably done by delivering a message to the electronic wallet 502via the wireless communication interface 523. As an alternative, theinformation is communicated to the electronic wallet 502 via acommunication between the card 500 and a magnetic card reader 100, suchas when the card 500 has been inserted into the slotted portion 104 ofthe magnetic card reader 100. In a third alternative, the information isprovided to the user, such as via a writing, a display, or otherdelivery means, and then the user can enter the information into theelectronic wallet 502 via the user interface 428.

A user, in one preferred mode of operation, partially disengages thecard 500 from the electronic wallet 502 by pulling out, in the directionindicated by arrow 506, a portion of the card 500 from the pocket 504.With an edge portion of the card 500 being exposed outside the pocket504 of the electronic wallet 502, the user inserts the edge portion ofthe card 500 into the slotted portion 104 of the magnetic card reader100. The conductor 510 is then located in the slotted portion 104 toallow communication of information between the conductor 510 and the atleast one magnetic reading head 103 of the magnetic card reader 100.

The user interface 428, as has been discussed above with respect to FIG.4, is alternatively included in the electronic wallet 502 to provideoutput signals or display information to the user, and to provide meansfor the user to enter user input into the electronic wallet 502. It isevident that the card 500 can also include a user interface (not shownin FIG. 5), such as the user interface 212 shown in FIG. 2 and discussedwith respect thereto. The user can access the functions of the card 500,for example, either via the user interface 428 of the electronic wallet502, or a user interface (not shown) of the card 500, or a combinationof both.

The sensor 214, as has been discussed above, is alternatively includedin the card 500 to allow the controller 514 to affirmatively determinewhen the card 500 has been inserted into the slotted portion 104 of themagnetic card reader 100, at which time the controller 514 can beginproviding a data signal to the driver circuit 512 to electrically drivethe conductor 510 to communicate with the magnetic reading head 103.

Now referring to FIG. 6 and to FIG. 5, a slidable engagement means ofthe preferred embodiment will be more fully discussed below. The card500 comprises, in this embodiment, a first flat contact 606 and a secondflat contact 608. The electronic wallet 502 comprises a first flexiblecontact 602 and a second flexible contact (not shown). The firstflexible contact 602 is electrically coupled to the power source 418 andthe second flexible contact is electrically coupled to a groundreference return 515 for the power source 418. The first flexiblecontact 602 and the second flexible contact are electronically coupledto the first flat contact 606 and the second flat contact 608,respectively, via a sliding engagement means 518. When the card 500 ispulled out (up to a predetermined distance 525 indicated on FIG. 5) ofthe electronic wallet 502, the first flexible contact 602 maintainselectronic contact with the first flat contact 606, and the secondflexible contact maintains electrical contact with the second flatcontact 608. The slidable engagement means 518 is used to couple thepower source 418 in the electronic wallet 502 to electronic circuits inthe card 500. Another slidable engagement means 524, shown in FIG. 5,comprising a third flexible contact (not shown) and a third contact (notshown) on the magnetically card provides an electrical path for othersignaling between the electronic wallet 502 and the card 500. Forexample, the controller/decoder 522 can communicate signals with thecontroller 514 via the other slidable engagement means.

Referring to FIG. 7, the card 500, also shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, alsocomprises smartcard technology, according to a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the card 500 typicallycomprises a plurality of electrical contacts, such as the electricalcontact 704 shown, which are located in a predetermined orientationwithin a predetermined region 702 about the surface of the card 500.Each electrical contact 704 is used for communicating signals, or power,or both, between a smartcard reader (not shown) and the card 500 withthe smartcard technology therein. The orientation, location, and use ofthe electrical contact 704 for the smartcard technology is defined byindustry standards for the smartcard industry.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the card500 also includes conductor 510 about an edge of the card 500 to allowcommunications with the magnetic card reader 100 as has been discussedabove. The controller 514 is electrically coupled to the conductor 510such as via the driver circuit 512, to electrically drive the conductor510 to communicate with the magnetic card reader 100 via the magneticreading head 103. As shown in FIG. 7, the first flat contact 606 and thesecond flat contact 608 provide an electrical path for couplingelectrical power from the electronic wallet 502 to the card 500 therebyproviding power to the circuits, including the controller 514, thedriver circuit 512, the sensor 214, and the conductor 510, located inthe card 500. Therefore, the card 500 can operate in either a smartcardmode, or in a magnetic stripe card mode, or both. In this way, the card500 comprising smartcard technology is compatible with conventionalmagnetic card reader technology and with the more recent smartcardreader technology. This allows a graceful evolution, if desired, to themore modern smartcard infrastructure while remaining compatible with theexisting magnetic card reader infrastructure.

This dual compatibility with both the more modern smartcard readertechnology and the existing magnetic card reader technology allows theuser of the card 500 the significant advantage of utilizing whichevertype of card reader infrastructure is available at a particular locationfor engaging in a transaction. Further, the significant investment inthe current magnetic card reader infrastructure and technology does notbecome obsolete while the industry gracefully evolves to the more modernsmartcard reader and newer infrastructure. This provides a significantfinancial advantage to the establishments that have already invested inmagnetic card reader technology.

Referring to FIG. 8, an exemplary operational sequence for thecontroller/decoder 522 of the electronic wallet 502 and for thecontroller 514 of the card 500, as shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7,will now be discussed below. As has been discussed above with respect toFIG. 5, the controller 514 communicates with the controller/decoder 522via the slidable engagement means 524 while the card 500 is at leastpartially inserted into the pocket 504 into the electronic wallet 502.The controller/decoder 522 enters the operational sequence, at step 800,and monitors for user input, at step 802, via the user interface 428.For example, the controller/decoder 522 displays on a display at theuser interface 428 a prompt for the user to enter a password to beginoperation of the electronic wallet 502. The controller/decoder 522 thenmonitors the user interface 428 to detect a user input, at step 802,such as via keys on a keyboard accessible to the user via the userinterface 428. If no user input, or the wrong password is entered asuser input, at step 802, the controller/decoder 522 then exits theoperational sequence at step 804. On the other hand, if a correctpassword is entered by a user, at step 802, then the controller/decoder522 either prompts a user to select a particular card, i.e., aparticular service provider that issued a subscription to the user, inthe event that a user has been issued more than one subscription forengaging in transactions using different services and service providers,or, alternatively, if the user has only one default subscription, thenthe controller/decoder 522 selects a particular service providersubscription for the user and communicates the selection with thecontroller 514 on the card 500. The controller 514 contains subscriptionidentification information and related data in a memory preferablylocated in the controller 514. The controller 514, upon receiving aselection signal from the controller/decoder 522, prepares data, at step806, for providing a data signal to the driver circuit 512 toelectrically drive the conductor 510 in accordance with the datacorresponding to the service provider subscription identification storedin the memory of the controller 514. Additionally, in the case of afinancial transaction, the data prepared by the controller 514, at step806, can include a transaction amount, such as may have been entered bya user via the user interface 428 and accepted by the controller/decoder522 and then coupled to the controller 514 during the process ofaccepting user input, at step 802. The card 500 is now ready to beinserted, in a direction indicated by arrow 508, into the magnetic cardreader 100. The controller 514 monitors the sensor 214, at step 808, toaffirmatively determine when the card 500 has been inserted into themagnetic card reader 100.

When the sensor 214 couples a sensor signal to the controller 514indicating that the card 500 is inserted in the slotted portion 104 ofthe magnetic card reader 100, at step 808, the controller 514 begins toprovide the data signal to the driver circuit 512, at step 810, toelectrically drive the conductor 510 in accordance with the data signal.After driving the data signal, at step 810, the controller 514determines whether there is data to be read from the magnetic cardreader 100, at step 812. This would be the case, for example, when aninformation service provider reprograms certain information at the card500 utilizing the magnetic card reader 100. This is typicallyaccomplished today with magnetic card readers 100 that are equipped witha read/write head mechanism for reading and writing to a third track ina conventional magnetic stripe card. However, the card 500 of thepresent invention, is also able to read data, at step 816, from themagnetic card reader 100. As has been discussed above with respect toFIG. 3, this entails, in one embodiment, the switching of a conductor204 to be electrically coupled with either a driver circuit 304 or witha detector circuit 318, depending on whether the conductor is used toemit an exemplary alternating polarity magnetic field or the conductoris used to pick up a signal from an exemplary external alternatingpolarity magnetic field provided by the magnetic card reader 100.Therefore, while there is more data to be processed, at step 814, thecontroller 514 enters either the write data operational sequence, atstep 810, or the read data operational sequence, at step 816, or both.After all the data has been processed, at step 814, the controller 514then exits the operational sequence, at step 804. In this way, theelectronic wallet 502 and the card 500 can communicate with the user andthe magnetic card reader 100 to accept a transaction request from theuser, including transaction parameters such as an amount, and thencommunicate with a magnetic card reader 100 to affect a transaction witha particular service provider that was selected by the user.

Referring to FIG. 9, a second exemplary operational sequence is shownfor the electronic wallet 502 and the card 500, according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention. The controller/decoder 522periodically monitors the wireless communication interface 523, such asvia the antenna 420 and receiver circuit 422 in a manner well known inthe art. Upon detecting a message being received with addressinformation selecting the particular electronic wallet 502, at step 902,the controller/decoder 522 then decodes the data from the message beingreceived, at step 906. The data decoded from the message, at step 906,may include a command to the electronic wallet 502 and the card 500, aswill be discussed below. If the controller/decoder 522 determines thatthe address of the message is not an address destined for reception bythe electronic wallet 502, at step 902, the controller/decoder 522 exitsthe operational sequence at step 904.

First, the data may instruct the controller/decoder 522 to store a newentry into memory for a new subscription for the user, at step 908. Whenthe controller/decoder 522 determines that a new data item is to bestored into memory, at step 908, the controller/decoder 522 stores thedata in a memory located in the controller/decoder 522 and furthercommunicates with the controller 514 and provides the data to thecontroller 514 which also stores the received data in a memory in thecontroller 514. This would store a new record in the data base for thecontroller/decoder 522 and in the controller 514 to allow the user toinitiate transactions with the service provider corresponding to thesubscription identification and data.

Secondly, the controller/decoder 522 may detect the command in thedecoded data to update an existing record, at step 912. In such a case,the controller/decoder 522 updates the existing data base for theservice provider at step 914, and further instructs the controller 514to update its memory for the existing record for the service provider tocorrespond to the new received data.

As a third exemplary command, the controller/decoder 522 may detect asecurity clear command instructing the electronic wallet 502 and thecard 500 to delete a particular record from the memory and from thedatabase, at step 916. This occurs if a user of the electronic wallet502 and the card 500 has terminated a subscription to a particularservice provider. Of course, a user that has lost their electronicwallet 502 and card 500 can request a central service to transmit, atstep 918, a security clear command to clear all data records andinformation from the database and memory in the controller/decoder 522and the controller 514. In this way, a lost electronic wallet 502 andcard 500 cannot be then used by an unauthorized user to initiatefraudulent transactions.

Referring to FIG. 10, for example, a data stream 350, is shown beingcommunicated to a prior art magnetic card reader 100 by either swipingthrough the slotted portion 104 a card 106 (see FIG. 1), oralternatively by operating the card 200 of the current invention in theslotted portion 104 of the magnetic card reader 100 (see FIG. 2 and FIG.3).

The data stream 350 in this example comprises the data bits “100110”. Aseries 360 of arrows represent a series of changing magnetic fields. Theseries of changing magnetic fields preferably communicates the datastream 350 utilizing a series of magnetic flux transitions. This wouldbe analogous to passing a track of the at least one track 111 ofinformation encoded in the magnetic stripe 110 in proximity to themagnetic reading head 103. Each arrow 362 represents a magnetic fieldchange, such as a change in polarity or in magnitude. A change indirection of an arrow 362 represents a change in the magnetic field. Ina preferred embodiment, a point in the series 360 at which the directionof the arrow 362 changes corresponds to a magnetic flux transition.

A data signal representing the data stream 350, in a preferredembodiment, comprises a self-clocking data signal represented by clocktransition changes in direction of the arrow 362 at predetermined timeintervals as illustrated in FIG. 10. Each “1” in the data stream 350 isrepresented by a change in direction of the arrow 362 in between clocktransition changes in direction of the arrow 362. Each “0” in the datastream 350 is represented by an unchanged magnetic field (no change indirection of the arrow 362) in between clock transition changes indirection of the arrow 362. By providing a changing magnetic field,preferably exhibiting magnetic flux transitions, as illustrated byseries 360, to the magnetic reading head 103, the data stream 350 iscommunicated to a magnetic card reader such as the prior art magneticcard reader 100. This is analogous, in one embodiment, to swiping thecard 106 through the slotted portion 104 of the magnetic card reader 100to pass the magnetic stripe 110 in proximity to the magnetic readinghead 103.

Line 370 shows a changing current that can be driven through theconductor 204 of the present invention to causes the data stream 350 tobe read by the magnetic reading head 103. In a preferred embodiment, aseries of clock transitions are represented by a series of changes in amagnetic field at predetermined time intervals. This corresponds tochanges in the current being driven through the conductor 204 at thepredetermined time intervals.

For the magnetic reading head 103 to determine the presence of a “1”, achange in the magnetic field, such as represented by a magnetic fluxtransition, occurs in between the changes in the magnetic field thatrepresent the clock transitions occurring at the predetermined timeintervals. This can be effected by changing the current being driventhrough the conductor 204 at a point in time in between thepredetermined time interval when a “1” is to be communicated to themagnetic reading head 103. If a “0” is to be communicated to themagnetic reading head 103, the current being driven through theconductor 204 remains unchanged during the predetermined time intervalthereby communicating a “0”. Thus, in order to communicate the datastream 350, the current through conductor 204 is modulated in accordancewith line 370. A “high” on line 370 indicates a first current while a“low” indicates a second current. For different implementations inaccordance with the present invention, the second current can be less invalue than the first current, or it can be a no value current, or it canbe a negative value current.

Therefore, by electronically changing the magnetic fields about aconductor of the conductor 204 in a time variable manner, information iscommunicated to a magnetic card reader such as the prior art magneticcard reader 100. Since the magnetic fields change electronically,movement of the card of the present invention is not required, therebysaving wear and tear on both the card and the card reader. Nevertheless,since the conductor 204, in the preferred embodiment, runs substantiallythe width 201 of the card, the card of the present invention may stillbe “swiped” through a magnetic card reader. This allows users to performthe familiar “swiping” movement while using the card 200 of the presentinvention for users that have become accustomed to the “swiping”movement of the card 106. However, no “swiping” movement is necessary.Additionally, since the conductor 204 runs substantially the width ofthe card, the placement of the card along the “swipe” direction in themagnetic card reader is not critical for operation with the magneticcard reader 100 as long as a portion of the length of the card isinserted in the slotted portion 104 of the magnetic card reader 100.Consequently, communication of data by the card of the current inventionis independent of movement of the card or placement of the card withinthe magnetic card reader. Further, the long track also provides for thepresent invention to work with magnetic card readers which haveelectromechanical mechanisms which automatically move the card throughthe magnetic card reader.

Thus, the card 500 of the present invention provides significantadvantages to the user and to society over the conventional magneticstripe card technology. Although conventional magnetic stripe cards areinherently limited in the amount of information that can be stored inthe magnetic stripe 110, due in part to the ANSI standard and in part tothe physical limitation of the magnetic media of the magnetic stripe110, the card 500 of the present invention provides a much longer streamof data to a magnetic card reader 100. This alternative operation for amagnetic card reader 100 could be effected by reprogramming the magneticcard reader 100 to allow reading a much longer data stream from to asingle track of a magnetic stripe card. One method for reprogramming amagnetic card reader 100 involves reprogramming an erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM) for the magnetic card reader 100. In analternative method, a central system downloads commands over acommunication link, such as a telephone link, to the magnetic cardreader 100 to cause the magnetic card reader 100 to modify a parametermemory within the magnetic card reader 100. One of the parameters thatwould be modified at the magnetic card reader parameter memory would bethe length of information that would be stored in a magnetic stripe cardtrack. Once the magnetic card reader 100 has been configured to read amuch longer track of information from a magnetically card, and the card500 has also been configured to provide the much longer data stream, thecard 500 provides to the magnetic card reader 100 a significantly largeramount of information than is possible with conventional magnetic stripecard technology. This much higher amount of information that can becommunicated with the magnetically communicative card 500 is comparableto the amount of information that can be stored and communicated usingsmartcard technology. Therefore, the magnetically communicative card 500performs well compared with smartcard technology, including the amountof information that is delivered between the magnetically communicativecard 500 and the magnetic card reader 100.

Referring now to FIG. 11, the alternating polarity magnetic field asrepresented by magnetic flux lines 919 produced by the changing currentthrough conductor 204 extend outwardly beyond a plane formed by the card200 and are curved about the length of the ferrite core 302. Referringnow to FIG. 12, in the alternative embodiment in which the conductor 204is a straight conductor, the magnetic flux lines 920 produced by thechanging current through conductor 204 also extend outwardly beyond aplane formed by the card, although it can be seen that the magnetic fluxlines in FIG. 12 curve about the conductor 204 and run in anotherdirection relative to the conventional position of a magnetic stripethan do the flux lines shown in FIG. 11.

While a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of theinvention has been given, it should be appreciated that many variationscan be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention asset forth in the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A magnetically communicative card comprising: a card bodyhaving a width; a controller within the card body; and at least oneconductor located at least partially within the card body, the at leastone conductor being electrically coupled to the controller forcontrolling a magnetic field that alternates polarity with timeemanating from the at least one conductor, the magnetic field beingdirectly detectable by a magnetic card reader without further movementof the magnetically communicative card relative to the card reader, tomagnetically communicate information from the magnetically communicativecard to the magnetic card reader after the card body is at leastpartially inserted into the magnetic card reader.
 2. The magneticallycommunicative card of claim 1 including a detector circuit coupled tothe at least one conductor for detecting a signal produced in the atleast one conductor in response a magnetic field emanating from a sourceexternal to the magnetically communicative card to magneticallycommunicate information to the magnetically communicative card.
 3. Themagnetically communicative card of claim 2 including more than oneconductor and in which each conductor mimics a read/write track of aconventional magnetic stripe card.
 4. The magnetically communicativecard of claim 1 in which the card body includes a ferrite core having alength substantially identical to the length of the card body and inwhich the at least one conductor is wound about the ferrite core forentirely the length of the ferrite core.
 5. The magneticallycommunicative card of claim 1 including a wireless communicationreceiver carried within the card body and coupled to the controller. 6.The magnetically communicative card of claim 5 in which the controllerreconfigures the magnetically communicative card in response to signalsreceived by the wireless communication receiver.
 7. The magneticallycommunicative card of claim 6 in which the controller reconfigures themagnetically communicative card to mimic one of a plurality ofconventional magnetic stripe cards.
 8. The magnetically communicativecard of claim 1, including a sensor coupled to the controller forsensing whether the magnetically communicative card is at leastpartially inserted into the magnetic card reader, and in which themagnetic field begins alternating polarity with time only after themagnetically communicative card is at least partially inserted into themagnetic card reader.
 9. The magnetically communicative card of claim 8,in which the magnetically communicative card ends alternating polaritywith time when the magnetically communicative card is no longer at leastpartially inserted into the magnetic card reader.
 10. The magneticallycommunicative card of claim 1, including a sensor coupled to thecontroller for sensing whether the magnetically communicative card is atleast partially inserted into the magnetic card reader, and in which themagnetic field alternates polarity with time only during a period thatthe magnetically communicative card is at least partially inserted intothe magnetic card reader.
 11. The magnetically communicative card ofclaim 1, including a detector circuit coupled to the controller fordetecting whether the at least one conductor intercepts a changingmagnetic field.
 12. The magnetically communicative card of claim 1,including a driver circuit coupled to the controller for driving achanging current in the at least one conductor.
 13. The magneticallycommunicative card of claim 1, including a detector circuit coupled tothe controller for detecting whether the at least one conductorintercepts a changing magnetic field, a driver circuit coupled to thecontroller for driving a changing current in the at least one conductor,and a switch coupled to the controller for switching the at least oneconductor between the detector circuit and the driver circuit.
 14. Themagnetically communicative card of claim 10, including a detectorcircuit coupled to the controller for detecting whether the at least oneconductor intercepts a changing magnetic field, a driver circuit coupledto the controller for driving a changing current in the at least oneconductor, and a switch coupled to the controller for switching the atleast one conductor between the detector circuit and the driver circuit.15. The magnetically communicative card of claim 11, including a sensorcoupled to the controller for sensing whether the magneticallycommunicative card is at least partially inserted into the magnetic cardreader, and in which the magnetic field alternates polarity with timeonly during a period that the magnetically communicative card is atleast partially inserted into the magnetic card reader.